Talaxian
Talaxians were a warp capable, technologically-advanced species native to the planet Talax in the Delta Quadrant. History The Talaxian race was an ancient one and they may have been warp capable as far back as the 1450s, when their race was contacted by the Vaadwaur. It was unclear as to how this contact went, however a legacy of this contact survived in the Talaxian language as the word "vaadwaur", which meant "foolish" – later interpreted by historians as being a reference to the fact that it was foolish to trust the Vaadwaur – seemingly suggesting it did not go well. The ancient Talaxians referred to themselves as Talax-ilzay. ( ) The Talaxian race engaged in a war with the Haakonian Order in the 2340s and 2350s. As a result of the war, many Talaxians emigrated to different regions of the Delta Quadrant. At least one group of emigrants had reached as far as the Delta/Beta Quadrant boundary. The war ended in 2356 with the deployment of the metreon cascade on the Talaxian moon of Rinax. Seeing the devastation caused by the cascade, the Talaxian government surrendered unconditionally. ( ) The Borg referred to Talaxians as Species 218. A small freighter was encountered by the Borg in the Dalmine Sector. The crew of 39 was easily assimilated. ( ) A small fleet of Talaxians aided Tom Paris in retaking from the Kazon-Nistrim in 2373. They lured the captured ship into a nebula where Paris, with his shuttle, disabled critical systems, forcing the Kazon to abandon the ship. ( ) Five years later, Voyager encountered a colony of Talaxians, of at least five hundred people, living in an asteroid. They were wary of visitors and were plagued by miners who tried to drive them out. Neelix, the morale officer of Voyager, assisted them by putting a plan in motion to place shield generators at key points around the asteroid. This successfully repelled the miners from evicting the Talaxians from the asteroid. Neelix later returned to the colony and assumed a post as Federation ambassador to the Delta Quadrant. ( ) Physiology Physically the Talaxians were humanoid, with large areas of yellow to reddish-brown spotting on their heads, arms, and bodies. They had pale skin, with a protruding "Y"-shaped bone ridge across the top of their chest area with a plume of ginger hair on the top of their heads. ( ) . (Delta Quadrant, p. 9)}} Males also had ginger whiskers growing on either side of their face; these developed during puberty, much like facial hair in Humans. However, the whiskers also had a pleasurable application since when tugged, they induced sexual arousal and feelings. ( ) Talaxians were generally stocky and the musculature of their upper bodies was very dense. The Borg believed that this fact made Talaxians excellent combat drones. ( ) Talaxians had spotted feet with long toes; the little toe was enlarged and rivaled the innermost toe in size. ( ) Talaxian blood is red. ( ) Talaxian vocal cords were incapable of producing basic diatonic tones, which meant they had difficulty singing. However Neelix sang on occasion, with varying degrees of success. ( ) The respiratory system of a Talaxian was directly linked, at various points, to their spinal cords, making them too complicated for Starfleet technology to replicate as of 2371. ( ) Unlike Humans, who had one spine, Talaxians had two spinal columns. ( ) It was hinted at that Talaxians had a higher tolerance for spicy foods than other races, or at least than Vulcans and Ocampans. In 2371, Neelix prepared a modified plomeek soup, a mere sip of which Tuvok found to be unpalatably "piquant." Neelix, on the other hand, was able to drink the soup as a beverage. ( ) In 2372, Tuvix reduced the spiciness of one of Neelix's usual recipes, which Kes found rather pleasing. On the other hand, this may be a reflection of Neelix's individual tastes, and not of Talaxians as a whole. ( ) Society and culture Talaxians tended to be a whimsical race with a well developed sense of humor. They were usually very friendly, helpful and were willing to offer their services to anyone who required them. )}} Talaxians also tended to be a spiritual people, known for their enjoyment of stories and the company of others. Talaxian burial ceremonies were elaborate, involving a full week of mourning. Their mythology had a belief in an afterlife known as the Great Forest, in which a great tree stands at the center. It was said that upon death, a Talaxian went to the afterlife and met the souls of his deceased family upon arrival. Many Talaxians kept models of the Guiding Tree and other religious or ceremonial objects. ( ) The Talaxians had an old expression: "When the road before you splits in two, take the third path." The meaning of this expression was to offer an individual a third option when the two they were offered are equally unappealing. ( ) The Talaxians celebrated a religious holiday called Prixin, which was a celebration of family life. ( ) Talaxians had a great enjoyment of food and meals. It was customary for a Talaxian to tell the story of how a meal was prepared to those eating it. ( ) Talaxians did not usually take baths in water, as their sector did not have a lot of it. Water was a sought-after commodity in the Delta Quadrant in 2371. ( ) Talaxian proper names usually had the letter "x" in them. Exceptions included the Godo Mountain Range and the Pyrithian Gorge. ( ) The Talaxian government's punishment for refusing military service, during wartime, was death. ( ) Language *'See': Talaxian language People ;Named: *Alixia *Brax *Dexa *Eldaxon *Jirex *Laxeth *Neelix (7/8 Talaxian, 1/8 Mylean) *Oxilon *Palaxia *Paxim *Tuvix (Vulcan-Talaxian hybrid) *Wixiban ;Unnamed: * See: Unnamed Talaxians Appendices Appearances Excluding appearances by Ethan Phillips as Neelix, Talaxians have appeared in the following Star Trek episodes: * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** Background information The Talaxians were created by makeup designer Michael Westmore. Neelix was the last character to be designed for Star Trek: Voyager, saved for last because the studio believed that Neelix would be one of the most merchandizable characters in the series due to his looks. The producers wanted an alien who was very likeable, very toy-like, ultimately almost huggable. As Westmore recalled, "At the time Neelix was designed, ''The Lion King was playing in theaters and as I watched the animated feature, I became enthralled with the look of the animals, especially the colorings. I thought the description of Neelix that we'd gotten from the producers could be enhanced with the look of a friendly cartoon animal. So we took that aspect of the animals and adapted them to the look of the Talaxians." Westmore purposely designed Neelix to appear rough and rowdy. "''I gave him a tough rowdiness by designing a wig made out of goat hair and spiky meerkat eyebrows. Then I gave him a cutesy, non-Trekkie look by rounding out his face so he would be completely non-threatening. In direct contrast to the pointed Klingon, meat-eating, flesh-tearing fangs, I rounded off Neelix's teeth and flattened out the chewing surfaces so he'd look like a leaf-eater. Pointy teeth are scary, rounded teeth are friendly; at least that's how humans perceive animals. We added the spots to give him an alien look while the wig and muttonchops come from the warthog character." (Star Trek: Aliens & Artifacts, p.158-159) Of Neelix's introduction in , author David A. McIntee wrote, "Neelix was essentially planned as an attempt to repeat the tongue-in-cheek success of Quark, but sadly the former trader-turned-chef doesn't have that effect." He listed the character as one of the low points of the episode. ( , pp. 3, 12) Numerous costumes and prop items as worn by Talaxian characters in Star Trek: Voyager were later sold off in the It's A Wrap! sale and auction, among them the female Talaxian bathing suit as seen in , a Talaxian computer panel set dressing from , a Talaxian fur fly prop from , and a fully painted unused Talaxian foam makeup appliance. Apocrypha Numerous Talaxians appear in the non-canon video game Star Trek Online. The Talaxians of the mirror universe are featured in the Decipher role-playing game Through a Glass, Darkly. The Haakonian Order attempts to decimate them in the parallel universe, but in a reversal of the primary universe history, the Talaxians are able to completely overcome the Haakonians by stealing metreon cascade technology after Haakon first uses it against them. Although the Talaxian population is decimated and scattered, as they are in the primary history, they use the cascade to vicious effect against the Haakonians, causing that civilization to completely fall. External links * * ca:Talaxians Category:Species Category:Talaxians de:Talaxianer es:Talaxianos fr:Talaxien pl:Talaxianie pt:Talaxiano